Knowing Pearls

There are Manay factors affect pearls quality and worth:

Size:Pearls size range are from 1mm seed pearls to huge 20mm South Sea pearls. - cultured pearls size in common are 6 - 7.5mm, above size 7.5mm the price jumps upward rapidly with each half-millimeter. Color:Colors don't affect the price of pearls very much as it is mostly a matter of taste Women with fair or light colored skin feel pink overtones look best. While women with dark skin or tan might find black or cream overtones look best. Shape:A perfectly round pearl is the most sought after and rare in cultured pearls. Farm's pearls that only 5-10% of them will be even and round. The rest of them will vary from semi-round pearls to asymmetrical baroque pearls. Surface:The cleaner the surface the more valuable the pearls will be. A good quality pearl will have few blemishes or marks - as pearl is from mother nature and few minor blemishes should be expected Nacre:Nacre is about the smooth surface that affects the pearl's beauty. When an irritant enters the oyster or as in cultured pearls is place inside the oyster, it responds by coating the irritant with layers of nacre. The thicker and smoother the nacre the more valuable the pearl. Good quality pearls should have a nacre thickness of about 10-15% of the diameter of the pearl Tahitian pearls may be up to 50% nacre. Luster:Luster is the intense glow coming from inside of the pearl, It happens as light entering the pearl and reflecting back through the layers of nacre. The quality of the luster is much related to how even and smooth the layers of nacre. You should be able to see your reflection on the surface of a pearl with good luster.